The Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (CFBISD) in Texas has implemented a unified school security solution with Genetec Security Center for video surveillance and access control and Bosch Security Systems for intrusion detection.
CFBISD provides schooling for 25,000 pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade students in the Dallas suburbs.
The district comprises 24 elementary schools, six middle schools, five high schools, and three specialty programme centres. The overhaul was the result of a three-year bond project to refurbish older buildings and update all security systems with the goal of increasing video coverage and door monitoring while implementing a standardised modern intrusion system.
“There was very little standardisation across our schools and facilities,” Daniel Robertson, Senior Security Systems Engineer at CFBISD. “We needed a more streamlined approach to security. The upgrade wasn’t only about investing in a new unified security solution. It was a complete change of mindset in how we secured our district.”
Today, the Genetec-Bosch solution has been deployed across 42 CFBISD sites, including most schools, administrative buildings, sports stadiums, transportation depots, service centres, and other facilities. At all locations, the team is using the Security Center to manage nearly 2000 cameras, 50 door readers, and 600 Bosch intrusion sensors with Bosch G series intrusion panels.
They also have video intercom setup at main entrances and are using Security Center to manage more than 7,000 cardholders, streamlining activation/deactivation. CFBISD has even given authorised School Resources Officers and district Police Chief administrative accounts, to help facilitate responses and keep all parties on the same page in the event of an emergency.
“Security Center allows us to quickly investigate any situation across our facilities. All our doors and intrusion points are linked to video, so we can easily retrieve everything from one platform. And if there’s an alarm triggered, we can click on that event and immediately know what’s going on. All this can be done quickly, so we see what’s happening and address it right away,” said Robertson.
